Elevator.



No. 66|,7|6. Patented -Nov.- l3, I900.

.J. GARY.

ELEVATOR.

(Application filed Aug. 4, 1900.) (No Model.)

Fig.1 fl' Fig-3 WITNESSES r W4. QM i ATTORNEY.

m: NORRIS PETERS 50.. Pnorauwo WASHlNGTON, o. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT Fries.

JEFFERSON GARY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 661,716, dated November 13, 1900.

Applicationfiled August 4:, 1900. Serial No. 25,918. \NO model.)

To all whom, it Inn/y concern:

Be it known that I, JEFFERSON GARY, acitizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Elevators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention has relation to improvements in elevators; and it consists in the novel arrangement andcombination of parts more fully set forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my elegator, showing the cage in its lowest position. Fig. 2 is a similar elevational viewshowing the cage elevated a suitable distance. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1, taken above the upper brace-beam. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectionon line L 4 of Fig. 2, taken through the stationary screw and sleeve rotatable about the same; and Fig. 515 an enlarged sectional detail of the screw and therotatable collar carried by the brace-beam.

The object of my present invention is to' construct a passenger or freight elevator which can be operated without the use of cables, counterweights, rack-bars, and similar devices, thereby materially simplifying the driving mechanism by which the elevatorcage is propelled in either direction.

In detail the invention may be described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the elevator-shaft, 2 the Side guide-timbers, and 2 the tongues or tracks along which cage 3' travels. Located centrally within the shaft and projecting through the cage is a stationary screw 4, along which the cage travels in either direction. Surrounding the screw and passing slightly beyond the limits of the cage in either direction is an inner sleeve 5, having upper and lower coupling-terminals or male clutches 6 6, respectively, the inner surface of the said sleeve being smooth with the exception of the portion confined between the two bottom floors-of the cage, which is screwthreaded, thereby enabling the said sleeve when turned in proper direction to travel up or down the screw, as will presently be more spool '7 is provided with bevel gear-teeth which mesh with the terminal pinious 11 11 of the drive-shafts of the motors M M, carried by the lower floor of the cage, said motors in the present instance being illustrated as rotary engines deriving their steam through the valve-controlled casing 12, provided with valves 13 13, respectively adapted to feed steam first to one motor and then the other.

The casing 12 is connected to the motor-fluid and the cage will descend.

generator or boiler 14 by a flexible hose 15. Upon starting one of the motors M and imparting rotation to the spool? in the proper direction the sleeve 5, and hence the cage 3, will travel up along the screw 4:. Upon shut- .ting ofi this motor and starting the other the spool will be driven in the opposite direction In the present instance the spool is provided with a brakeband 16, passing around the spool, one end of the band being secured to a bracketl? and the other to the lowerend of a brake-lever 18, whose upper end projects into the cage and is within easy reach of the operator, the

brake being shown as applied in Fig. 1.

For deep shafts it becomes necessary to brace the stationary screw 4 against any lateral strains which might result in bending the screw. a convenient point along the screw 4 and above the cage is disposed a brace-beam 19,

provided with a central interior-1y screwthreaded loosely-mounted collar 20, adapted to travel up and down the screw. Normally the beam 19 rests or comes to a stop when the collar comes opposite the smooth or threadless section 4 of the screw, the beam being provided along its upper surface with guide loops or eyes 21, through which loosely pass the rods 22, each rod being provided with a This I accomplish as follows: At

collar 23, against which bears one end of a resilient spring 24, coiled about the rod,-the

opposite end bearing against the adjacent loop 21. When the beam 19 comes opposite the portion 4, the springs 24 force the tapering outer ends of the rods 22 intothe pockets 25, the latter being formed by the meeting edges of opposite gently-sloping walls or surfaces formed in the path of the shaft. The lower projecting edge of the rotatable collar 20 constitutes the female section of the clutch formed therewith by the upper end of the sleeve 5. As the latter rotates with the elevation of the cage along the screw 4 it engages the collar 20, rotating and elevating it and. the beam 19 along the screw, the gradual sloping walls of the pocket forcing the rods 22 inward. As the cage descends it of course brings down the brace-beam 19 with it until the latter comes opposite the pockets 25, by which time the collar 2.0, coming opposite the threadless portion 4 of the screw, simply turns about it without descending along the same, the cage, with its sleeve 5, continuing down and leaving the beam 19 behind, it being understood that the screw-threads in the collar 20 do not come down far enough to seize the threads of the screw 4 below the section 4.,the engagement of the ends of the rods 22 with the bases of the pockets 25 preventing the descent of the beam to that extent, the threads of the collar being always in position, however, toseize the upper continuation of the screw above the section 4 as the cage is descending. A similar bracebeam 19' is located below the cage, this beam being reciprocated along the screw 4 in a similar manner, and when the bottom of the cage has ascended beyond the plane in which the pockets 25 25 are disposed the beam 19 is left behind, with its rods 22 engaging said pockets, its central collar 20 being so threaded that it misses theupper screw-threaded continuation of the screw 4 above the section 4, but is always in position to engage the lower threaded section the momentthe cage descends and forces the beam 19' downward upon the coupling of thelower end of the sleeve 5 and collar 20. Like the rods 22, the rods 22 are similarly forced out of their pockets along the gradually-inclined walls of the same, the same walls permitting the gradual expansion of the rods 22 under the action of the springs 24. With the arrangement as described, therefore, the screw 4 is always retained rigid against lateral strains'by means of the traveling brace-beams 19 19, the beam 19 advancing before and the beam 19 following behind the cage upon its ascent and the reverse taking place upon the descent of the cage, each beam in turn being left behind opposite the pockets 25 25 and the section 4 of the screw,

Y the other beam being always in engagement with the sleeve 5, by which the cage is screwed up and down, as it were, along the screw 4.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- "1. In an elevator a suitable cage, a screw along which said cage travels, and bracebeams for said screw, adapted to be advanced with the cage along the screw by the movement of the cage, substantially as set forth.

2. 111 an elevator, a suitable cage, a screw along which said cage travels, brace-beams v for said screw adapted to be advanced along the screw by the cage upon the travel of the latter, and means for arresting the travel of the brace-beams at certain points along the length of the screw, substantially as set forth.

3. In an elevator, a central stationary screw disposed vertically in the shaft of the elevator, and passing through the cage thereof, a brace-beam having a central interiorly-screwthreaded collar through which the screw passes, means for coupling said collar to the cage during a portion of the travel of the latter in each direction, the screw having a smooth or threadless portion which arrests thetravel of the collar and brace-beam carrying the same, substantially as set forth.

4. In an elevator, a central stationary screw, having a smooth or th readless portion at a certain point along the length thereof, a bracebeam having a central rotatable threaded collar adapted to travel along the screw, pockets formed in the shaft-walls opposite said smooth portion in the screw, and spring-controlled rods guided along and supported by the bracebeam, the outer ends of the rods being adapted to enter the pockets, and hold the beam rigidly in place, substantially as set forth.

5. An elevator comprising a shaft, a cage for the same, a stationary screw passing through the cage, a screw-threaded sleeve secured to the cage and passed over the screw and provided with a couplingterminal at each end, a flanged spool rigidly secured to the sleeve, bearing-plates carried by the cage, ball-bearings interposed between flanges of the spool and bearing-plates, suitable motors carried by the cage and imparting rotation to the spool and sleeve, a suitable brake for the spool, brace-beams above and below the cage, rotatable collars carried by the beams and adapted to travel along the screw and provided with coupling-terminals, adapted to couple to the adjacent ends of the sleeve, whereby the brace-beams are caused to travel along the screw during the travel of the cage in each direction, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JEFFERSON GARY.

Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK, G. L. BELFRY. 

